Philippines moves to probe alleged Epstein link after report exposes online clean-up network
The Philippine Senate is moving to investigate reports that convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein sought help from a network in the Philippines to help conceal his criminal past online.
Philippine Senator Loren Legarda said on Tuesday she will file a resolution directing law enforcement agencies to look into Epstein’s alleged footprint in the country, including possible links to local organisations, syndicates and public relations firms.
The probe would involve the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation and potentially the Senate Committee on Women.
Her move was prompted by recent reports based on newly released U.S. government documents suggesting that, as early as 2010, Epstein or his associates hired a Philippines-based team to scrub damaging information about him from the internet.
“This is very recent. It’s right here at our doorstep. I don’t know whether it was him personally or his associates, but this convicted pedophile — who was supposedly a financial wizard at the time and who died or was killed — had a network in the Philippines,” Legarda said.
She added that the alleged operation went beyond sexual exploitation networks and may have involved businesses and other sectors used as cover.
“We must see because they even work with a public relations company to cleanse their image,” she said.
The planned Senate resolution comes as lawmakers debated Senate Bill No. 1819, which seeks to strengthen the Philippines’ laws against online sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Epstein’s past in the Philippines was first reported by Philstar.com, citing emails included in the so-called “Epstein Files,” which described how reputation management tactics were deployed to manipulate search engine results and online platforms.
These efforts allegedly involved Filipino workers tasked with mass link-building, creating websites and editing online entries to bury references to Epstein’s criminal record.
According to the report, the operation relied on early search engine optimisation techniques to flood the internet with neutral or positive content, pushing reports of Epstein’s jail time and abuse allegations out of prominent search results.
Legarda said investigators must determine whether Philippine laws were violated and whether local entities knowingly participated in concealing crimes involving child sexual abuse.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
